Scenic China

Daily departures

A 18-day tour that covers Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai and the Yangtze River cruise, but which also includes Chengdu for the giant pandas, and the stunning natural beauty of Jiuzhaigou and Emei Shan, both in Sichuan and both UNESCO world heritage sites.

An escorted tour, using mostly 5-star hotels and 5-star cruise boat, with your own local English-speaking guides and car and driver, with daily breakfast and most lunches included.

Day 1 Depart UK.
Day 2 Arrive Beijing. Transfer to your 5-star hotel. Rest of the day free.
Day 3 Full day excursion visiting first Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, the centre of power for China's imperial rulers. After lunch, visit the Temple of Heaven where emperors performed rituals to ensure good harvests. (B, L)
Day 4 Excursion to the famous Great Wall of China, plus the tombs of the Ming emperors. (B, L)
Day 5 Tour by cycle rickshaw around the 'hutongs' - the traditional residential areas of old Beijing with their narrow alleyways and courtyard houses. After lunch, transfer to airport for flight to Xi'an. Transfer to 5-star hotel. (B, L)
Day 6 Visit to the Terracotta Army, created by China's first emperor to guard his tomb for eternity. Return to Xi'an to visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda (B, L)
Day 7 Experience Xi'an's impressive medieval city wall, the Bell Tower, and the Shaanxi Historical museum before transfer to airport for flight to Chengdu. Transfer to 5-star hotel. (B, L)
Day 8 Trip to the outskirts of Chengdu to visit the Panda Research Base, where many of these animals are kept in naturalistic surroundings. Then take a city tour of Chengdu, including the Wuhou temple. (B, L)
Day 9 Travel to Dujiangyan to see the 2,000-year-old irrigation system, built to tame the waters of the Min River before visiting the archaeological site of Sanxingdui where the museum records the relics of the early Bronze Age civilization that flourished here. Then transfer to airport for flight to Jiuzhaigou, in the far north of Sichuan. (B, L)
Day 10 Full day exploring the natural wonders of Jiuzhaigou - or Nine Village Valley - with its forests, stunning lakes and waterfalls, and Tibetan villages. (B, L)
Day 11 Day free until transfer to airport for flight to Chengdu. Transfer to hotel. (B)
Day 12 Travel south of Chengdu by road to Mt Emei, one of the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism and a nature reserve in its own right. Visit the Baoguo at the foot of the mountain before ascending to the summit by cable car. (B, L)
Day 13 Travel back to Chengdu via Leshan in order to visit the 'Dafo' or Giant Buddha, one of the largest Buddha statues in the world, carved from a river cliff in the 8th century AD. (B, L)
Day 14 Transfer to railway station for high-speed CRH 'bullet train' to Chongqing. Transfer to pier to join your 5-star Yangtze cruise boat for departure later that evening (B)
Days 15 to 16 Cruise downstream through the Three Gorges, with shore excursions to the 'ghost city' of Fengdu and trip in small boats on either the Shennong Stream or Daning River, tributaries of the Yangtze. (B, L, D)
Day 17 Yangtze River cruise, including shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam. Disembark at Yichang and transfer to airport for flight to Shanghai. Transfer to 5-star hotel (B)
Day 18 City tour of Shanghai to include the Yu Garden and the surrounding old town district, the Jade Buddha Temple, the Bund, Shanghai Museum and the Pudong new economic development district. (B, L)
Day 19 Transfer to airport for flight back to UK, arriving later the same day. (B)